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“The best stories are rarely the ones that go according to plan.” Unknown
Guess who spent the first hour of the day in a Romanian hospital?
This gal…
Some hiking days are magical.
Today was not one of those days.
Today was an absolute dumpster fire from start to finish.
Let’s just get the awkward part out of the way.
I have a urinary tract infection.
Unfortunately, this isn’t my first rodeo. Long-distance hiking and I have a complicated relationship. Too much sweat, too much dehydration, too many hours in damp hiking clothes…and apparently my body eventually waves the white flag.
Yes, this is probably more information than most travel blogs share.
But if I’m going to write honestly and authentically about what it’s like to hike across a country, I can’t just tell you about the beautiful sunsets and mountain views. Sometimes the reality is far less glamorous.
My lady parts are on fire every time I pee, but sometimes, you just have to keep going.
The symptoms had been getting worse for several days, but we’ve been hiking through tiny villages where the medical facilities are basically nonexistent. I managed to buy those urinary pain relief pills from a pharmacy, the ones that turn your pee an alarming shade of blue, but they weren’t providing much relief.
As we were leaving town this morning, we spotted a sign for a hospital.
I figured I had nothing to lose.
As it turned out, I hit the Romanian healthcare jackpot.
Not only did the doctor speak excellent English, but she’d also hiked the Portuguese Camino from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. She immediately understood exactly what I was dealing with because she’d lived the sweaty backpack life herself.
She tested my urine, confirmed it was a UTI, wrote me a prescription, and the pharmacy next door filled it within minutes.
By 9:30 am we were back on the trail.
A late start, but one that was absolutely worth it.
Now I’m just hoping the antibiotics start working soon.
Fingers crossed it helps.
Also, I walked without underwear. The lady bits needed some ventilation.
It’s an exclusive club, really.
Not many people can say they’ve walked across Romania commando.
Last night, Massimo and I discussed where we should walk to next on the map. We were overly ambitious – that always happens when you’re relaxing and not on the trail. So we decided to walk two stages instead of one.
This was an exceptionally dumb idea.
It’s funny because yesterday and the day before were mostly enjoyable – easy hiking, nice accommodations, fun companions on the trail…but today the wheels fell off the bus. Literally.
We were only five kilometers into the hike today when Massimo blew a tire…his sandal broke.
When we met up in Bucharest, I questioned his decision to wear these particular sandals. I had already seen him wear them walking half way across of Italy.
And just yesterday, he was telling another hiker how he had already walked 1,600 km in this pair of shoes. I think he jinxed himself.
The hiking gods heard him.
They do not appreciate overconfidence.
He had to unpack his entire backpack on the trail just to reach the hiking boots buried at the bottom.
He kept saying he was “so mad.”
The funny thing was…he looked about as angry as someone who received a pizza with the wrong toppings.
If that’s Massimo mad, he’s one of the nicest humans on Earth.
As for navigation…Let’s just say the trail won. Repeatedly.
We missed so many turns that eventually I stopped keeping score.
At one point we crossed a bridge…
Realized we’d gone the wrong way…
Turned around…
Crossed it again.
If there was a way to make the hike more difficult for ourselves, by golly, we found it…again and again.
One unexpected benefit of constantly retracing our steps?
We accidentally bumped into the two German women we’d stayed with a few nights earlier.
It’s amazing how much socializing happens when you’re repeatedly walking in circles.
Not long afterward we spotted our first bear tracks.
They were enormous.
Fresh enough that neither of us loved the situation.
I immediately started blasting music from my phone.
Massimo lit one of his firecrackers.
That’s when the forest caught on fire.
Just kidding. 😉
But honestly?
Considering how the day was going, it wouldn’t have surprised me.
The best moment of the day came when we finished the first stage.
We sat down in the grass near what we assumed was someone’s home to catch our breath.
A man walked over and, in perfect English, invited us inside for soup.
Turns out it wasn’t someone’s house. It was a children’s camp.
Within minutes, Massimo and I had become the entertainment.
The kids faces lit up and their eyes bulged with curiosity when we walked inside. I’m fairly certain we became Show-and-Tell for the afternoon.
And honestly…
It was exactly the morale boost we needed.
The hills we climbed today were atrocious. The first track wasn’t so bad but the second nearly killed us – literally – we both fell going down the slippery slopes.
The first hill on the second track was not as steep as it was long. We hiked uphill for several kilometers. And the second hill, forget about it, it was short but straight up.
But we made it. A little worse for wear but two more stages are now in our rear window.
I was completely exhausted from our 17 mile (27 km) hike. Massimo probably could have walked another 27 km. They don’t call him The Legend for nothing.
It’s late and I’m beyond tired so I’m going to wrap this up. Goodnight and we will see what tomorrow brings.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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At the place we are staying, the kids have a pet deer that they rescued. Nothing in Romania surprises me anymore.
